Four years ago to the day, Natalie Copping found out her son was seriously ill just weeks after her GP said he was fine.

Her son James was just three-years-old and had been suffering from excruciating headaches for weeks.

Initially, the GP had dismissed the parents' fears, only to then refer him to see a specialist at Colchester Hospital and after a series of tests, Natalie and her husband Jonathan were given the news no parent wants to hear.

"The doctor took us to a side room," Natalie said. "We knew then something was not OK.

"He told us that they had found a large brain tumour in the back of James' head."

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Excruciating headaches

Weeks before they were given the heartbreaking diagnosis, little James would scream for up to an hour and complain of a headache.

The parents began to notice that he was off his food and his head was leaning to one side.

"We couldn't pin point everything and bring it all together until he started having headaches," Natalie, 36, said. "That was the first thing that brought it to our attention that something was not quite right.

"One evening he started screaming in pain but he was just three so it was hard for him to explain where the pain was but he was pointing to the back of his head. He was crying for about an hour.

James suffered severe headaches and would scream for up to an hour

"We then noticed that his head was leaning to one side. I took him to the GP and explained and that he was also becoming lathargic. He didn't have an appetite and his moods changed.

"He was becoming angry."

However, because he was not vomiting, Natalie was told to come back in a few weeks if the headaches continued.

James went back to preschool after the summer holidays when the staff took Natalie, who lives with James, Jonathan and their three other children in Kelvedon, to one side.

Staff had noticed that James' balance was off. Natalie quickly booked another appointment with the GP but she left without answers.

Emergency surgery

The doctor had referred the youngster to hospital and Natalie received a call just five days later that he would be seen straight away.

After examining James' eyes, the doctor at Colchester Hospital said he couldn't see his optic discs.

"We had no idea what that meant," Natalie said. "But they booked him in for an MRI scan and some other tests.

"They let us go home and we had to go back the following morning. They told us it would take 20 minutes for the MRI but he was in there for 90 minutes.

"I waited outside while my husband went in with James. They had sedated him so I assumed he had woken up and that's why it took so long.

"As soon as my husband came out I knew he felt something wasn't right. He said they scanned his head and waited a while. They started scanning his spine which was not part of why we were there."

Moments later, the parents were given the devastating news that James had a brain tumour.

Four hours after the diagnosis, James was blue lighted to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge and received emergency surgery six days later.

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Heartbreaking stories

"It was a case of monitoring the growth," Natalie said. "But we wanted a second opinion.

"In October 2016 we went to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool as they have a specialist machine that has had a 100 per cent success rate with children with the same tumour as James.

"We went up there to see if they could help him. The first surgery was an emergency so we didn't have time to plan or look at our options. We thought we had time to plan what was going to happen if he needed more surgery."

Since then, James and his family travel to the Liverpool hospital every few months for scans.

"It's now a case of waiting and monitoring," Natalie said. "It's very difficult. You live your life in between scans.

"You cannot plan too far ahead. We travel up to Liverpool and come back each time and this is quite difficult but the staff are amazing.

"We get the results the same day of his scan. Before we were waiting up to four weeks which is a long time when you want to carry on living your life."

James is a 'typical seven-year-old boy'

James now has scans every few months

James has been tube fed since June 2015 as a result of the surgery. Around nine months after the life-saving operation, Natalie and Jonathan faced an uphill struggle to get their son to eat.

"We battled constantly with his eating," the mum said. "He had no interest in eating and the longest he went without eating was five days. He was wasting away.

"He didn't have the energy to fight normal colds and infections."

The years of hospital appointments has also had it's effect on James.

Natalie added: "The impact of everything has effected him. But he is a very happy little boy.

"He goes to school. He loves playing with his Lego and riding his scooter and his bike. He goes to swimming lessons which he enjoys. He is a typical seven-year-old boy.

"It's very rare he will get really upset about it. I think it's usual for him now but there are times when he gets very upset."

This is how you can help James

Natalie wanted to give back to those who had helped her and her family throughout James' treatment.

The Brain Tumour Charity provide support for both children and parents and have dedicated teams to guide families through the difficult time.

This October, Natalie and James will be taking part in the charity's Twilight Walk in a bid to raise money.

"They hold family days so you can go to four a year to meet other families whose children have been diagnosed," Natalie said. "You get a chance to talk to them.

"There is not a lot of people to talk to so it's quite isolating. It's nice to talk about it and know you are not the only ones going through it. The charity do not get government funding.